Pressure gauge



PRESSURE GAME. APPLICATION FILED JUNE l, 19MLv RENEWED NOV. 24 iQU- l Patgnted Dc.

@alteridad Dec. Iii 1922.

than@ time staresv PATENr WILLIAM P. HAMMOND, OF PASSACyNEW JERSEY, .ASSGNOR TO A. SCHRADERS SON, INCORPORATED, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

PRESSURE GAUGE.

Application filed .Tune 1, 1910, SerialNo. 564,502;

To all whom t may concern.' y y Be it'known that l, l/VILLIAM P. HAM- MOND, a citizen of the United States and a resident of the city and county of as'saic7 and State of New Jersey, have inventedy cerf tain new and useful mprovements in Pres sure Gauges, of which the following, vtaken in connection with theaccompanying drawings, is a clear, concise, and complete de scription thereof. y l

My invention comprehends certain im provements in pressure gauges particularly designed for use in measuring the fluid pressure in pneumatic tires and theob] ect of my invention is to provide an improved construction of gauge adapted for momentary application to the valve of a pneumatic tire 'that will indicate the fluid pressure within the tire and maintain such indication after the gauge has been removed from the tire valve and until the tension on the spring has been released. A further object` of my invention is to provide meansl for releasing an excess pressure from within the tire, while the gauge is applied tothe tire .valve and withall to provide a gauge that is air tight, simple in construction and inexpensive in cost of manufacture.

To the accomplishment of these as well as other objects which will manifest them-k selves from a reading of the following specification, l will proceed todescribe one preferable embodiment of my invention partie ularly adaptable to pneumatic tires which l have illustrated in the accompanying drawings with the understanding that l do not hereby restrict myself to this illustrated and described embodiment of the broad features thereof to its use .in connection with pneu-v matic tires or in fact with any other fluid pressure receiving and containing struc= tures. Referring to the drawings: Fig. l is asectional view of a gauge embodying the broad r*features of my invention. Fig. 2 is a detail showing the indicating means.

The gauge as illustrated comprises-two shells 1 and 2 telescopically mounted with relation to one another, thek outershell movingunder graduation provided on the periphery of ,the inner shell l and indicated by the registration of the edge e of said outer shell with said graduation the degree of such pressure fluid pressure to exposea scale or Renewed kNovember 24, 1917. Serial No. 203,863.

in pounds pressureper square inch. The ini ner shelll is preferably made in two sections7 the lower section indicated at l being conoidal as shown and adapted to abut the edge of the upper section and be held in sustaining engagement by other parts of the device. vThe lower ysection l is provided with an aperture n 5 foi the reception ofthe valvecasing of a tire when applying the gauge thereto. A valve housing 6 in which is mounted va valve mechanism is located within the shell l, beingpreferably screwed therein. Thehousing projects within the section lof the inner shell and has a close wedged or driven connection therewith. rlhe upper end of the outer shell 2 is provided with yscrewthreads and mounted and projecting thereinis a similar housing which is also provided witha valve mechanism. As these valve mechanisms are alike in construction, the description of one will suffice to a clear yunderstandingthereof. The valve mechanism illustrated is of Well known construction and kconsists of a valve head 8 which isv yieldingly held to a valve kseat Qby a coil spring and which has a stein l1 that protrudes beyond` the outer end of the housing in which it isy mounted, so `that pressure upony the protruding end of the ystem will` cause the valve 8 to be movedfrom its seat to permit thepassage of fluid to or `from the gauge as the case may be according to which valve is operated.

' The housingsand 7 are connected by'an elastic tube 10 the interior of which forms a pressure chamber lla', the tube v10 being clamped to the housings by means of a ring or clamp l2. Surrounding the tube 10 and suitablv fastened to the housings 6 and .7 is a springlshown here as being ofthe eXpansion type. This spring is accurately cali- `bered to the desiredmeasurements to cause the shells l and 2 to yindicate the pressure of the fluid being tested.` n

A groove 14 is provided in the shell l as a guide for the reception of a lug l5 punched out of the outer shell Qto preventv rotary movement .of Lthe shells and disarrangement ofthe parts. ,y d y At the valvel engaging lend of the gauge and within theconodial portion l` of the shellis provided a rubber bushing 16 serving as a seat aga/inst which the valve casing `of the tire rests and `bymeans of which an air tight connection is established. Corrugated rubber sleeve 1T is provided on the device to afford a good gripping surface for the hand of the operator or user.

Both valve stems are provided with enlarged heads or ends, the end 1l of the lower valve engages the stem of a similar valvel in' the valve casing of the tire being tested, depressing the same, as well as lifting itself and the valve in the operation in order that the fluid pressure within the tire may be admitted 'to the pressure chamber 'llak of the gauge and there operate the gauge by eX- panding the spring and moving 'the yshell 2 to' expose the scale and thus 'indicate the degree of such fluid pressure. n

It will be apparent that upon the removal of the gauge from the tire valve casing` that the valve mechanism in the lower housing 6 will close immediately under the influence of its own spring as well as the pressure of the fluid behind it wit-hin the pressure chamber, this pressure being lthereby trapped within the gauge and the indicationlon the scale is made permanent and 'maintained until the pressure is released. This affords an opportunity for'testing tires inthe dark, as it is possible to apply the gauge to the tire and remove it to a light for inspection or reading and when used in daylight it affords a great convenience as it does not require bending down low inorder to read the scale as is now necessary with other similar devices.

To release the tensionon the spring 13 in order to resetthe gauge, the valve stem ll ofthe upper valve is depressed, the air pressure thereby escaping and the spring and elastic tube will contract to initial position and the gauge is then'ready for another test.

In testingtirepressures should'it be found that too much'fiuidpressure is 'within as indicated by the gauge scale, by p depressing the Valve stem l1 of the upper valve the eX- cess fluid pressure may bereleased from the tire through the gauge, the valve stem ll being released as soon as the desired proper pressure is indicated on the gauge.

The operation ofthe device is vthought to be apparent from the foregoing description. The `gauge is applied to the valve casing of the tire to'be tested, the rubber bushing I6 engaging the edge of the valve casing and serving to form a seal or air-tight connection between the said casing and the gauge. In applying the valve to the casing, the enlarged head l1 of the valve stem will engage and depress the valve stem in the valve casing ofthe tire, and at the same time 'the valve 8 will be lifted from its seat, thereby establishing open communication between the interior of the tire and the interiorof the pressure chamber l1a of the gauge. The fluid thus admitted to the gauge will expand the extensible tube 10 and the spring 13, thereby moving the housing 7 and index shell 2 outwardly so as to expose the graduations on the shell l. After being thus momentarily applied to the tire, the gaugey is vremoved therefrom, the valve 8 together with the valve of the tire automatically closing under the action of their respective springs. y In this manner air is trapped within the chamber lla and the pressure indication maintained so as to vpermit of the gauge being inspected in a manner most convenient to the user. In order to reset the gauge after a reading has been made, the enlarged head of stem ll of the upper valve S is depressed so as to relieve the pressure within the chamber 11a.

' When testing, should the pressure be found to be excessive in the tire, the same may be reduced by depressing the enlarged head of stem ll'to unseat the valve 8 of the upper valve of the gauge and allowing a portion of the fluid yto escape. lhen the proper pressure is thus obtained, the `enlarged head of stein Il will be released so as to permitthe valveto close, the desired pressure being then indicated upon the scale. 'It is mani-fest that changes may be `made inthe detail structural arrangement of the gauge and equivalent means substituted without departing from the scope and tenor of the appendedclaims, as, for instance, I may use'other means for holding the spring in suspension to maintain the indication on -the gauge and I do not wish to be unduly restricted in the matterof equivalents.

I do not herein claim the broad invention of a gauge y'with a press-on foot, which has means for holding the indicator in pressureindicating position after the gauge is removed from thetire valve,since this forms the subject-matter of the prior application of Robert Faries, Serial No. 543,222, February ll, 1910.

IIaving thus described my invention, what I claim as new'l'ierein and desire to secure filed `by Letters' Patent is:

lQA pressuregauge for pneumatic tires,

lcomprising a pressure-responsive element;y

means 'for temporarily connecting said pressure-responsive element with the interior of a tire through attire-valve, said'connection having a single passage therethrough leading to said pressure-responsive element, a valve in said passage'adapted to trap air admitted to ysaid pressure-responsive element, and a second valve adapted to be manually operated vfor releasing the air trapped in said pressure-responsive element.

f 2. A portable pressure gauge for pneumatic. tires and the like, said pressuregauge being'formed with a pressure chamber and a seat communicating with the pressure 'chamber and adapted to engage the valve casing of a tire valve7 a check valve 'for admittmg fluid pressure to the pressure chainber and automatically'trapping it therein so that a readingcan be made after the 'auge has been removed from thetire, means ror automatically opening the tire valve When the seat is applied thereto and a man-L gauge has been removed 'from the tire, ak

stem projecting from the check valve and adapted to engage the tire valve to automatically open the same when the pressure gauge is applied to the valve casing of ,the tire valve, and a resiliently seated valve for releasing the pressure from the pressure chamber to reset the gauge, said latter valve at the end of the pressure chamber opposite the irst mentioned valve. f t

4. A portable pressure gauge for pneumatic tires and the like, said pressure gauge includingtelescopin gauge members one of which is formed Wii a seat adapted to engage the valve casing of a tire valve, an elastic tube connecting` the gauge members and cooperating therewith to provide a. pressure chamber Which yis in communication With the seat, a coil spring surrounding the elastic tube and connecting the gauge members, means for opening the tire valve when the gauge is applied thereto, a check valve for admitting fluid pressure to the pressure chamber and automatically trapping it therein so that a reading can be made after the gauge has been removed from the tire, and a releasev valve-for resetting the gauge. f

5. A pressure gauge for pneumatic tires comprising a casing, a pressure-responsive element Within said casing, means carried by said casing for temporarily connecting said pressure-responsive element with the interior of a tire through a tire valve, said connection having a single passage therethrough leading to said pressure-responsive element Within the casing, a valve in said passage adapted to trap air admitted to said ,pressure-responsive element, 'and a manually-operable part having a portion located at the exterior of said casing for releasing the trapped air.

kVllliiLIAli/I P. HAMMOND.

Witnesses: v

E. T. Cooney, M.`M1LLER. 

